Georg Philipp Telemann was born in Magdeburg, the son
of a Lutheran deacon who died in 1685, leaving the
mother to raise their three children alone. The youth
showed remarkable talent in music, but was temporarily
discouraged in his chosen pursuit by Puritan Lutherans,
who told Telemann's mother that he would turn out no
better than "a clown, a tightrope walker or a
marmot-trainer." In opposition to his mother's wishes,
Telemann continued to study in secrecy until she
relented, allowing him to t...(+)
Georg Philipp Telemann was born in Magdeburg, the son
of a Lutheran deacon who died in 1685, leaving the
mother to raise their three children alone. The youth
showed remarkable talent in music, but was temporarily
discouraged in his chosen pursuit by Puritan Lutherans,
who told Telemann's mother that he would turn out no
better than "a clown, a tightrope walker or a
marmot-trainer." In opposition to his mother's wishes,
Telemann continued to study in secrecy until she
relented, allowing him to train under the highly
respected Kantor Benedict Christiani, at the Old City
School. Outside of some early lessons in reading
tablature, Telemann was self-taught and was capable of
playing the flute, violin, viola da gamba, oboe,
trombone, double bass, and several keyboard
instruments. Telemann began to write music from
childhood, producing an opera, Sigismundus, by age
12.
Almost completely self-taught in music, he became a
composer against his family's wishes. After studying in
Magdeburg, Zellerfeld, and Hildesheim, Telemann entered
the University of Leipzig to study law, but eventually
settled on a career in music. He held important
positions in Leipzig, Sorau, Eisenach, and Frankfurt
before settling in Hamburg in 1721, where he became
musical director of that city's five main churches.
While Telemann's career prospered, his personal life
was always troubled: his first wife died less than two
years after their marriage, and his second wife had
extramarital affairs and accumulated a large gambling
debt before leaving him. As part of his duties, he
wrote a considerable amount of music for educating
organists under his direction. This includes 48 chorale
preludes and 20 small fugues (modal fugues) to
accompany his chorale harmonisations for 500 hymns. His
music incorporates French, Italian, and German national
styles, and he was at times even influenced by Polish
popular music. He remained at the forefront of all new
musical tendencies, and his music stands as an
important link between the late Baroque and early
Classical styles. The Telemann Museum in Hamburg is
dedicated to him.
Georg Philipp Telemann's Concertos for Four Violins
(TWV 40:201–204; original title: Concertos à 4
Violini Concertati) is a set of four concertos for four
violins without continuo. Each concerto has four
movements. The form of these concertos is concise and
concentrated, even in a moderate tempo none of them
lasts longer than eight minutes. The fast movements are
fresh and lively. The slow ones are expressive and make
use of uncommon harmony. Because of the imitative
disposition all parts are equally involved in the
materials’ treatment. The antiphonal opposition of
instrumental groups in pairs is especially prominent.
The dynamics in the Grave are the only ones found in
the manuscript of the Sonata in C-major TWV 40:203. The
writing in the second movement is very idiomatic for
the violin and this particularly challenging for
saxophones, especially in fast passages with large
intervals. A few minor alterations may facilitate the
technical difficulties. Sixteenth notes could be
slurred in groups of four or two where wider intervals
occur, as indicated by the dashed slurs. Difficult
sixteenth note passages could be partly or completely
substituted by eighth notes, according to one’s own
progress. In bars 31/32 and 41 the accompaniment in the
lower parts is originally in unison. The cues complete
the harmony, especially if the first Alto part is
simplified. The quarter notes in Largo e staccato have
a certain weight in the context of the short eighth
notes and should not be played too short.
Source: Wikipedia
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Concertos_for_Four_Violi
ns_(Telemann)).
Although originally created for 4 Violins, I created
this Arrangement of the Concerto in A Major (TWV
40:204) for String Quartet (2 Violins, Viola &
Cello).
